Dell EMC Unveiled Cloud Platform for Microsoft Azure Stack

Dell EMC, part of Dell Technologies, announces Cloud for Microsoft Azure Stack, a turnkey, hybrid cloud platform that offers a simple and fast path for implementing and sustaining a hybrid cloud based on Microsoft Azure Stack.

This platform helps organizations standardizing on the Microsoft Azure ecosystem to accelerate their digital transformation with automated IT service delivery for traditional and cloud-native applications. As a result, organizations can better engage with their customers, reduce time to market for new services, and free-up resources to focus on adding business value.

“Cloud is an operating model, not a place, and adopting a hybrid model has become the clear choice,” said Peter Cutts, SVP, hybrid cloud platforms, Dell EMC. “Making hybrid cloud platforms simple and turnkey enables businesses to rapidly develop and deploy new applications, optimize resources, control costs and deliver the best possible customer experiences.“

The company’s Cloud for Microsoft Azure Stack combines the firm’s leadership in worldwide cloud infrastructure with its long history of partnering with Microsoft Corp., which includes shipping the industry’s first Microsoft-based hybrid cloud in October 2015.

According to IDC, Dell EMC was No. 1 in the worldwide cloud infrastructure market for 2016 with $5.7 billion in revenue and 17.6% market share. ⁽¹⁾

This offering complements turnkey platforms firm’s Enterprise Hybrid Cloud, introduced more than three years ago, and company’s Native Hybrid Cloud that integrate hardware, software and automation to simplify IT service delivery and reduce time to market for customers around the globe.

Consistent experience for on-premises private and public cloud
Interoperability between public and private cloud resources has become a top requirement for many organizations’ IT infrastructures. The firm’s Cloud for Microsoft Azure Stack delivers a consistent experience across Azure public cloud and private with Azure Stack. It is engineered with PowerEdge servers and firm’s networking. As a hybrid cloud platform, it is built, sustained and supported as a singular platform with a turnkey stack.

Cloud for Microsoft Azure Stack offers a hybrid cloud that speeds application development and deployment by providing a consistent programming surface between Azure and Azure Stack. As a result, organizations can cost-effectively access, create and share traditional and cloud-native application services securely in Azure and Azure Stack to ensure business results, without sacrificing security, protection, service quality and availability.

Integration with the company’s backup and encryption technologies provides a consistent means of protecting and securing data across customers’ Azure-based public and on premises cloud environments. Furthermore, the adoption of Pivotal Cloud Foundry on Azure will extend to Cloud for Microsoft Azure Stack, continuing to deliver the promise of hybrid models with consistent services, APIs and consumption models for on- and off-premises.

Services simplify deployment and management
Dell EMC services are available for every step of the journey-from strategic planning through implementation, operations and ongoing support. Company’s experts provide hands-on guidance to optimize and expand the customer’s hybrid cloud platform to meet business objectives. These activities include developing and customizing service catalogs, enabling identity and access management systems, and extending monitoring and metering systems to Azure Stack.

The firm provides support throughout the lifecycle of the platform with each component backed by automated proactive, predictive tools and a dedicated technical account manager with ProSupport Plus.

With Hybrid Cloud Platforms backed by Dell EMC Services, organizations can focus on delivering differentiated application services rather than building and managing their infrastructure.

Study reveals key drivers for hybrid cloud adoption
To understand how companies are transforming business and to analyze the benefits, costs and drivers associated with the use of cloud deployment models, the company commissioned analyst firm IDC to conduct a global survey of 1,000 mid-to-large-sized organizations that are using and/or evaluating private and public cloud.

This IDC Cloudview Survey finds that 79.7% of large organizations (with 1,000 or more employees) report they already have a hybrid cloud strategy. In addition, 51.4% already use both public and private cloud infrastructure resources with an additional 29.2% expecting to in the next year. ⁽²⁾

The survey results, published in the IDC white paper, The Power of Hybrid Cloud, also reveal that TCO is one of the top drivers of cloud adoption. Other criteria for future IT infrastructure decisions on workloads supported by cloud environments includes physical and data security (34%) and operation flexibility (33%) in addition to flexibility of economic models. This study underscores the value of turnkey hybrid cloud, which balances the pros and cons of different cloud deployment models.

Cloud for Microsoft Azure Stack is expected to be available direct and from partners worldwide in the second half of calendar year 2017.

Mike Neil, corporate VP, enterprise cloud, Microsoft, said: “Microsoft and Dell EMC are continuing our longtime alliance by investing in Microsoft Azure Stack on Dell EMC infrastructure to meet rising customer expectations for solutions that deliver a top-quality public and on-premises cloud experience, to rapidly transform, and innovate through applications built for the cloud. With Dell EMC Cloud for Microsoft Azure Stack, our shared customers have the support and solutions to enable them to be more efficient and innovative with a best-in-class, hybrid cloud platform.“

Peter Pluim, EVP, IDM, Atos SE, said: “Our Atos Hybrid Cloud for Microsoft Azure Stack, based on the DELL EMC Cloud for Microsoft Azure Stack platform, provides a secure yet flexible cloud foundation, on which businesses can pivot their business models, respond swiftly to the market and create exceptional customer experiences. Like our partner Dell EMC, we believe digital is a fundamental part of an organization’s strategy. With this offering, we further increase our ability to support our customers in their digital transformation, providing a complete end-to-end cloud offering, and continue to be a trusted partner in their ongoing digital journeys.“

Tomoshiro Takemoto, senior MD, cloud computing service division, Nomura Research Institute, Ltd. (NRI), said: “Dell EMC Cloud for Microsoft Azure Stack is the best enterprise-ready hybrid cloud because it has strong competitive advantages including security and reliability features, on top of Azure Stack, to support real world digital transformation. Many customers need this type of enterprise hybrid cloud for their agile innovation while maintaining traditional IT systems. By combining our ‘mPLAT Suite’ that realizes integrated management of the multi-cloud environment with Dell EMC technology, we can provide customers with the best hybrid cloud solutions to solve issues, such as cloud silos, through rapid modernization.“

Laura DuBois, group VP, enterprise storage, servers and infrastructure software, IDC, said: “Interoperability enables organizations to adopt new cloud solutions with minimal changes to process, tools and staff, which enhances the ability to lead and drive IT and digital transformations. Turnkey solutions, like Dell EMC Cloud for Microsoft Azure Stack, address the current challenges with private and public cloud adoption, including consistency with current tooling, access to value added services, and ongoing lifecycle assurance for the platform.“

⁽¹⁾ 2016 IDC Worldwide Quarterly Cloud IT Infrastructure Tracker published April 2017.
⁽²⁾ IDC white paper, sponsored by Dell EMC, The Power of Hybrid Cloud, May 2017

Resources:
IDC white paper: The Power of Hybrid Cloud, May 2017
Cloud chats blog: Realize Your Vision for Hybrid Cloud Success
Video: Chad Sakac: Dell EMC Cloud News
Video: Peter Cutts: Introducing an engineered hybrid cloud platform for Microsoft Azure Stack
Video: ATOS partners with Dell EMC for Microsoft Azure Stack